Kevin Durant shocked the NBA community to its core when he demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets this offseason. An even more shocking report was that Durant wanted to be traded to either the Phoenix Suns or the Miami Heat. While the rumors about KD joining the Heat quickly settled down, the same cannot be said for the Slim Reaper’s potential move to the Suns.
The Suns are unarguably one of the best teams in the league right now. The dynamic duo of Devin Booker and Chris Paul has helped the Suns reach this status. On top of that, the presence of Deandre Ayton was another exciting reason for KD to join the Nets.
Although the Suns reportedly tried to trade for KD with a package around Mikal Bridges and a bunch of picks, the Nets declined. Many assumed it was obviously because the Nets may have wanted either Chris Paul or Devin Booker in the deal. But according to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, that’s not how things went down.
Charles Barkley Reveals The Nets Never Wanted Chris Paul Or Devin Booker In The Trade Package For Kevin Durant
NBA analyst Charles Barkley is one of the closest people to the Phoenix Suns. So evidently, the franchise tends to ask for his advice before taking a huge decision. In the recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, Chuck revealed the Suns did the same when they wanted to trade for KD.
(Starts at 0:11)
Barkley thinks Phoenix should have traded for KD. If they kept Booker/CP3 I don’t disagree. Unclear if it was on the table but he seemed confident that it was.pic.twitter.com/V11HaPKlQj
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 27, 2022
“You know it’s so funny living in Phoenix, these idiots, like calling me every day saying like, ‘What do you think?’ I say, ‘What do you mean? What do I think?’ They said, ‘Well, they want a lot.’ I said, ‘Do they want Booker and Chris Paul?’ They’re like, ‘No, they don’t want them.’ I say, ‘Well, give it to ’em then!’ Chris Paul, KD and Booker? We’re good!”
If this is true, then the Suns could have had a potential Big 3 of Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant. Now, it’s true that winning in today’s NBA requires more than just putting together a bunch of superstars, but a team featuring CP3, KD, and D-Book could have been amazing.
But it was revealed that the Suns’ GM Sam Jones still felt the Nets were asking too much for Kevin Durant. At the end of the day, KD ended up staying with the Nets, and the Suns re-signed Deandre Ayton.
